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1-10 of 10
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Shelley Berman began studying acting shortly after he was honorably discharged from the US navy. He enrolled as a drama student at Chicago's Goodman Theater, where he met Sarah Herman, another aspiring thespian. They fell in love and were married in 1947. After graduating from the Goodman Theater, Shelley joined the Woodstock Players, a stock theater company in Woodstock, IL. It was here that he had the opportunity to really develop and polish his acting skills, with the support and encouragement of fellow players Geraldine Page, Betsy Palmer and Tom Bosley. Leaving Woodstock in 1949, Shelley and Sarah made their way across the country, with Shelley in search of acting work. When those jobs were scarce, he worked as a social director, a cab driver, a speech teacher, an assistant manager at a drug store and an instructor at Arthur Murray Dance Studios. While in New York Shelley found work as a sketch writer for The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956), and was doing well when he received an invitation to join an improvisational troupe known as The Compass Players, which took him back home to Chicago. With Compass (which later evolved into Second City) Shelley worked with soon-to-be famous performers Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Severn Darden and Barbara Harris, among others. While performing improvised sketches with the Compass Players, Shelley began developing solo pieces, employing an imaginary telephone to take the place of an onstage partner. While watching Mort Sahl perform at Mr. Kelly's in Chicago in 1957, Shelley realized he didn't necessarily have to tell traditional jokes, as other comedians of the day did, in order to work in nightclubs and went on to audition at the club, performing his one-man monologues and telephone routines with great success. Those first dates at Mr. Kelly's led to other nightclub engagements around the country, appearances on national television and a recording contract with Verve Records. "Inside Shelley Berman", released in early 1959, became the first comedy album to be awarded a gold record--for selling one million copies--and the first non-musical recording to win a Grammy Award. Shelley would eventually record a total of six albums for Verve, including "Outside Shelley Berman" and "The Edge of Shelley Berman", both of which also went gold. Shelley would go on to appear on numerous TV specials, and all of the major variety shows, including those of Ed Sullivan, Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Dinah Shore, Perry Como, Andy Williams and Dean Martin. Shelley's great success as a comedian enabled him to continue with his first love, acting. He starred on Broadway in "A Family Affair" and would continue to do stage work in productions of "The Odd Couple", "Damn Yankees", "Where's Charley?", "Fiddler On the Roof", "Two by Two", "I'm Not Rappaport", "La Cage aux Folles", "Prisoner of Second Avenue" and "Guys & Dolls", among others. Comedic and dramatic acting roles in what came to be known as "The Golden Age of Television" began to come his way, including memorable appearances on episodes of Peter Gunn (1958), The Twilight Zone (1959), Rawhide (1959), Bewitched (1964), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970), Adam-12 (1968), Emergency! (1972), CHiPs (1977), St. Elsewhere (1982), Night Court (1984), MacGyver (1985), L.A. Law (1986), Friends (1994), Arli$$ (1996), Lizzie McGuire (2001), Providence (1999), Walker, Texas Ranger (1993), The King of Queens (1998), "The Bernie Mac Show" (2001)_, "Grey's Anatomy" (2005)_ Entourage (2004) Hannah Montana (2006), CSI: NY (2004) and Boston Legal (2004), the latter of which he made numerous recurring guest -tar appearances as the hilariously semi-senile Judge Robert Sanders. Since 2002 Shelley has appeared as Nat David (Larry David's father) on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000), a role for which he received a 2008 Emmy Award nomination. With dialogue entirely improvised by its cast, "Curb" has given Shelley the opportunity to return to his improv roots, introduced him to a new generation of TV viewers and brought him acclaim from critics and fans alike. Among Shelley's film credits are The Best Man (1964) with Henry Fonda; Divorce American Style (1967) with Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds; Every Home Should Have One (1970) with Marty Feldman; '80s cult favorite Teen Witch (1989); with 'Burt Reynolds' in The Last Producer (2000); Meet the Fockers (2004) with Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller; The Aristocrats (2005); The Holiday (2006) with Cameron Diaz, and You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008) (with Adam Sandler). Shelley continues to do film and television work and make personal appearances across the country year-round. He has authored three books, two plays, several TV pilot scripts and numerous poems. For over 20 years he taught humor writing in the Master of Professional Writing program at USC, where he is now a Lecturer Emeritus. Shelley spends his (precious little) free time volunteering for various charitable organizations and indulging in his favorite hobby, knife collecting.- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Elizabeth Kemp has worked extensively in theatre, film and television. She has worked on and off Broadway, including "Once in a Lifetime" at Circle in the Square, "North Shore Fish" at WPA and "Heat" at the Public Theatre. She was in the original cast of "The Best Little Whorehouse" in Texas, which first opened at The Actors Studio. Highlights include playing opposite Christopher Reeve, Tom Hanks and Kevin Kline, as well as working with Tennessee Williams. At the recommendation of Elia Kazan, she was chosen to play the final incarnation of Baby Doll in the world première of "Tiger Tail". Regional credits include California Actors Theatre in San Francisco, Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Folger Theatre in Washington, D.C., Center Stage in Baltimore and Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. Film credits include Sisters(2007)Eating (1990), The Clairvoyant (1982), Murderous Vision (1991), Animal Room (1995) and Challenger (1990). On television, in addition to numerous long-running and guest-starring roles, she received the GLAAD Award for her work on L.A. Law (1986). Directing and set design credits include productions in Paris, Stockholm and Rome, "The Glass Menagerie" at The Actors Studio and "Four to Four" at UBU Rep. A longtime Member of The Actors Studio, she recently starred in and designed the set for its productions of "The Wound of Love" and "Elektra". She has been a member of the Acting Faculty of The Actors StudioMFA Program since its inaugural year.She serves on the Board of Directors of the Actors Srudio.- Peadar Lamb was born in 1930 in Carraroe, Galway, Ireland. He was an actor, known for Far and Away (1992), Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog (1998) and This Is My Father (1998). He was married to Geraldine Plunkett. He died on 1 September 2017 in Glenageary, County Dublin, Ireland.
- Vladimír Brabec was born on 15 June 1934 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Rukojmí v Bella Vista (1980), Snatky z rozumu (1968) and Náhrdelník (1992). He was married to Nadezda Znamínková. He died on 1 September 2017 in Prague, Czech Republic.
- Writer
- Actress
- Music Department
Annette Wademant was born on 19 December 1928 in Brussels, Belgium. She was a writer and actress, known for The Earrings of Madame De... (1953), Edward and Caroline (1951) and Lola Montès (1955). She died on 1 September 2017 in Paris, France.- Matt Labine was born on 5 May 1959 in New York, New York, USA. Matt was a writer, known for General Hospital (1963), Ryan's Hope (1975) and Guiding Light (1952). Matt died on 1 September 2017.
- Jérome Choquette was born on 25 January 1928 in Montréal, Québec, Canada. He was married to Nina Bruneau. He died on 1 September 2017 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
- Jackie Burkett was born on 16 December 1936 in Thorsby, Alabama, USA. He was married to Jackie. He died on 1 September 2017 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, USA.
- Ralph Dellor was born in 1948 in the UK. He died on 1 September 2017 in the UK.
- Cormac Murphy-O'Connor was born on 24 August 1932 in Reading, Berkshire, England, UK. He died on 1 September 2017 in the UK.